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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / OCTOBER 13, 2003: VOL. 2 NO. 41
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Systems/Enterprise:
MACROVISION REDEFINES GRID
INDUSTRY STANDARD WITH FLEXnet
Macrovision Corporation, a leading provider of software licensing
technologies, including FLEXlm, announced the launch of Macrovision FLEXnet,
the universal software licensing platform. The platform, which is already
attracting broad industry support, works on the majority of commercial
operating systems and hardware devices. FLEXnet enables new software revenue
models for software publishers -- at a time when many are struggling with
lower sales -- through flexible pricing and innovative business models such as
utility computing. It streamlines software business costs by simplifying
operations and logistics.
For corporations facing tighter IT budgets, FLEXnet provides optimal
license
purchasing and efficient license allocation, and allows unlimited access to
software across the enterprise while automatically enforcing software
compliance terms.
"Vendors and end-users are both wrestling with increased complexity in the
way
software is packaged, licensed, and deployed," said Stephen Graham, vice
president of IDC's Global Software Business Strategies Group. "FLEXnet
addresses this growing problem by allowing vendors to build flexible,
responsive license options into their products. This benefits everybody in the
industry -- customers, vendors and their partners."
"Software publishers will no longer need to seek out a myriad of suppliers
to
help them deploy, manage, and maintain their software, or worry about getting
these diverse products to work well with one another," said Dan Stickel,
general manager of Macrovision's Software Technologies Group. "Going forward,
software publishers can feel secure that by using FLEXnet, the breadth of
offerings and pre-integrated capabilities will streamline the entire process,
freeing them to focus on developing their own core software products instead
of dealing with the difficult and time-consuming tasks of licensing,
delivering, fulfilling and upgrading their products."
FLEXnet has gathered broad industry support with partner companies planning
to
offer third-party products and services that further extend FLEXnet licensing
solutions to Macrovision's customer base. The partners include InstallShield,
Intraware, Open Channel Solutions, Platform, Tally and others. This industry
support enables software publishers and their customers to select from a broad
suite of vendor capabilities that seamlessly interoperate -- ultimately
facilitating streamlined pricing, packaging, licensing and compliance --
within one environment.
How FLEXnet Works
Prior to FLEXnet, software publishers had to hard code their licensing
terms
into their products, which meant that terms remained static and unchangeable
until the next major release. FLEXnet's universal software licensing approach
allows software vendors to more efficiently deploy and manage their software
properties -- at any time.
Macrovision FLEXnet technology is either embedded into a publisher's source
code or "wrapped" around it, enabling the software publisher to electronically
generate, track and enforce its software licenses. The publisher can easily
create "new" products by turning "on" and "off" modules and features according
to the needs of different industry verticals, for example -- all from a single
executable file.
FLEXnet includes a back office license delivery and fulfilment engine that
integrates into the publisher's ERP, CRM and financial systems. It also
supports end-user license management, enabling corporate customers to deploy,
track and manage the applications they purchase. Current Macrovision customers
can seamlessly upgrade to FLEXnet, with no disruption of their business
operations.
FLEXnet is designed to meet the evolving needs of today's software
environment, including Macrovision's installed base of more than 2500 software
publishers, thousands of corporate enterprise customers, and millions of
corporate end users worldwide.
FLEXnet allows software vendors to sell software "as a service" and enables
customers to "pay-as-they-go", promoting the efficient new utility computing
and grid computing business models. FLEXnet also makes it easier for corporate
end users to work with and manage any "FLEXenabled" software application. IT
managers can gain much greater insights into company-wide software usage,
optimize their software expenditure and allocate software costs back to other
departments. FLEXnet protects corporations from the liability of unlicensed
use by automatically ensuring software license compliance.
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